Bassmaster Magazine, Day on the Lake by Don Wirth

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Senior
,::l i:li.! :r ;i.:, Morgenthaler
fights a good bass that hit his
finesse jig by a boat dock.
"
This ffitrite S*ries p:r* ar**t*s
g#lTr# p[*n *r: thm nusg:
*6:itting r*lr:
ii;li4
;1.,:-:.:, The sky has cleared as
Morgenthaler fishes a jig around a sub.
merged tree.
",i', ff'sl
-F.e:{:f i
:'YrlliBi, Un!! tr
,r':a:l ii..ilr. Morgenthaler's
=
second keeper bass of the
o
day,a4ll2-poundmale
largemouth, hit his flipping
jig in shallow wood cover.
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BASSMASTER'S "DAY ON the Lake" series puts Bassmaster
Elite Series pros on small lakes thev'r,e ,.rr.ir."r, before, then
gives them seven hours to formulate a successful bass-catching
pattern. This month, Chad Morgenthaler takes our challenge,
The 49-year-old Coulterville, IIl., pro, a six-time Bassmaster
Classic qualifier, has fished B.A.S.S. er.ents for 16 years and u,on
theJanuary 20I5 Southern Open at Lake Toho (Florida). Here's
rvhat happened April 2, 2015,'rvhen rve put Morgenthaler on
Lake J, a small, remote reservr:ir. What follor,l,s may help you
more effectively handle unstable weather conditions durins
your spring bass outings.
r) S;li-i a.*r. I meet Morgenthaler at a campground near the lake.
He's ton'ing a Phoenix 92IXP bass boat equipped u,ith a 250horsepower Mercury outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor and
Humminbird eiectronics. It's partly cloudy and 65 degrees, with a
high around 72 and scattered thunderstorms forecast for the day.
l! di;$.1 s.-m, It's misting rain when rve arrive at the launch ramp
on Lake J. Morgenthaler pulls several Denali rods equipped with
Shimano reels from storage and preps his boat for launching.
3 F4ffi&iffiS LHF'Y
* *.nu" We launch the Phoenix and Morgenthaler checks
the Iake's surface temperature: 60 degrees. "They evidently had
a big rain here recently because the lake looks high and a little
!> 7rI
(Continued)
64
SA$$ffi&$?*6,\p,'ii?{}16
Dav,.r,-^,
nir^**^e
[;tre, {Lrrrdu rvruruut lthalel}
Lake'
murky, which, coupled with this cloud
cover, may make it tough to sPot bass
beds if there are any fish up spawning.
But on the plus side, I'm a die-hard jig
fisherman, and the water color looks perfect for jigs."
ll ?:18 a.nr. Morgenthaler runs to a tributary arm on the opposite side ofthe lake.
"There are several boat docks in this
creek, and I want to check them out first
thing to see ifI can spot any fish bedding
around them. It's really cloudy, but the
water's calm in here, so I should be able
to spot beds if they're shallow enough."
He puts his trolling motor on medium
speed and progresses up the creek arm
while casting a black 1/4-ounce Lunker
Lure Hawg Callerbuzzbaitto the docks.
'A buzzbait is an awesome lure for triggering reaction strikes from big bass that
have just moved up shallow and are
cruising around prior to spawning."
* 7r?2 a.m" The water temPerature
drops to 57 degrees once Morgenthaler
moves deeper into the tributary arm.
"That's heading in the wrong direction!
There must be some cold runoff dumping
into the lake from all that rain."
i| ?:fiS &.{n. Morgenthaler ties on a
3/8-ounce Lunker Lure Limit Series finesse jig, brown and green with a green
pumpkin Zoom Super ChunkJr. trailer.
"This is a compact ball-head jig; I've had
real good luck with it around docks. It's
got a fairly slow fall and looks like a live
crawfish."
?r*6 a,m, Morgenthaler pitches the fijig to a dock, gets a tap and snaps
back his rod but misses the fish. He
sprays some chartreuse dye on the legs of
the trailer "so they can see it a little easier. It's not an ideal day for dock fishing
with this cloud cover; they'll stick tighter
to docks when the sun's shining."
$ ?;3$ a.ur" Morgenthaler pitches the finesse jig to another dock, gives lt a gentle
hop, and a good bass loads on. His first
|!
nesse
fish ofthe day is a stout 3-pound, l-ounce
largemouth. "This fish was sitting right
next to a post on the front of that dock,
close to deeper water. Notice that it
hasn't got a mark on it, which tells me it's
either a prespawn bass or [it] just recently moved onto a nest. They're usually
pretty beat up by the time they're done
spawning."
D ?:3? a,me. Morgenthaler makes his next
pitch to the post that held his 3-1. "You aIways want to repeat the cast where you
caught a bass this time of year. If the fish
you caught was on a bed, you can usually
get its mate to bite, too."
66
8e$$m&ffiIff Apr:it
2t)16
Il ?:3:t a"ru. The pro spots what appears
to be a bass bed between two docks. "I
don't see a fish on it right now, but I'Il
come back and check it out later." He enters the waypoint on his graph and continues down the bank.
* ?:1*$ *.rn" Morgenthaler pitches the jig
to another dock, swings and misses.
"That was either a bluegill or a bass that
just nipped the tail of the trailer."
* ?;3* a"*r" He switches to a 4 ll2-inch
Missile Baits Shock Wave soft plastic
swimbait in the shrapnel color pattern
rigged on all4-otnce Hooker head. He
casts it in front of a dock and reels it
steadily back to the boat.
rl i':'&E m"rrr" Opting io try a much larger
swimbait, Morgenthaler ties on a 6th
Sense Flow Glider 140 Live Bluegill. "This
is a big, slow-sinking, jointed swimbait
with an erratic gliding action. You can either fish it with short twitches of the rod
to make it glide or reel it straight in so it
throws a surface wake. I fish it on
S0-pound braided line because I don't
want to risk breaking it off; these lures
cost s /5 aprece:
l} ?:,{3 a,lrl. Morgenthaler lobs the Flow
GIider to the back end ofthe tributary
arm and wakes it just beneath the surface. "Casting this bait is like throwing a
cement block! It'll wear you out, but it'll
catch a giant fish."
l-v ?r4S a,v*r. The upper end of the creek
doesn't pan out, so Morgenthaler begins
fishing his wayback out toward the main
Iake via the opposite shoreline. He's alternating between the finesse jig and a
3/8-ounce chartreuse and white Lunker
Lure Hawg Caller spinnerbait, using the
former to hit the docks and the latter between the structures,
}} ?:54 a"*r" Morgenthaler returns to the
bass bed he spotted earlier and pitches the
finesse jig at the nest. "I can't see much of
anything now; the wind's starting to blow
in here and it's getting darker."
}} ?rS{* a.xm. Morgenthaler casts the finesse
jig to a submerged brushpile he spotted using his graph's side-imaging function.
"There are some crappie suspending
around it, but I don't see anybass."
D $:$li a"nn, He slow rolls the spinnerbait
parallel to a sloping bank. "I'm not seeing
any beds in this cove. I think the water's
still too cold; it's only 56 degrees here."
rl S:$E a.rn, Morgenthaler exits the
creek arm and begins spinnerbaiting a
sea waIl on the main lake. He immediately gets a short strike on the lure.
"They'll spawn on these walls. I don't
Iike how the wind is pushing waves
1Dfr{
t
c
nro Morgenthaier}
down into the cover. It's bulkier than
the finesse jig, so it tends to attract
bigger bites, and it's got a rattle, so they
can locate it easily in murky water. I'm
fishing it on braid, so ifanything so
much as breathes on it, I can feel it."
D 9:03 a.m. Morgenthaler pitches the
flipping jig into a submerged tree. He
feels a solid thump and hammers the
fish, but it tangles around a limb and
gets offl "Oh, nol That fish was 6 or 7
pounds! She wrapped me around that
limb and I couldn't do anythingwith
her. But at least that tells me some
good fish may be moving into this
wood cover. See what I mean about the
bigjig getting the big bite?"
}} 9:06 a.m. He moves into a sheltered
pocket and pitches the black and blue
jig to some stickups.
7)/Nl//+
}} 9:09 a.m. Morgenthaler pitches the
flipping jig to a submerged woodpile
and whacks his second keeper ofthe
day, a beautiful 4 I I 2-p o:und lar gemouth. "This looks like a big male! The
wind s not hitting this bank too hard
and the sun's out, so they should move
into this wood. Notice that I'm working
this heavierjig pretty fast. I'm pitching
it to the wood, letting it crash down,
hopping it once or twice, then reeling it
in quickly and making another pitch.
This approach allows me to coverwater with the jig almost as quickly as I
could with a spinnerbait."
5 HOURS
LEFT
}} 9:20 a.m. Morgenthaler has moved
into another nearbypocket and is
working over submerged wood with
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68 mSSHlElt[
April2or6
the flippingjig.
ll 9t26 a.m.He hops the finesse jig
across a shallow mud point.
}} 9:29 a.rn. Morgenthaler spots a
3-pound bass beneath an overhanging
tree. He pitches the flipping jig to the
fish and it vanishes.
D 9:35 *.m. Clouds are moving in
again as Morgenthaler pounds shoreline wood cover with the flipping jig.
* 9:41 a.m. He pitches the jig into a
submerged logjam, slams back his rod
and reels in a 4-foot section of tree limb.
>l 9:49 a.m. The shallowwood cover
is petering out along this bank.
Morgenthaler makes a high-speed run
farther uplake to a shallow pocket,
where he tries the flipping jig. "It's 59
degrees here, but it's so shallow, my
trolling motor is kicking up mud."
}} 9:58 a.m. Morgenthaler makes a
blistering run uplake to alribrttary
arm with scattered lilypads. "The water's 61 degrees up here, but it's kind of
muddy." He runs the spinnerbait past
a pad stem, and a small bass smacks it
but gets off.
!> lO:09 a.m. A culvert on the bank is
dumping murky runoff into the lake,
Morgenthaler pitches the flipping jig
in front ofthe pipe and catches a short
fish. "fhere's a little ditch running
straight out from that culvert." several
more pitches to the ditch fail to produce another bite.
4 HOURS LEFT
> 10:15 a.m. Morgenthaler runs farther uplake to a tributary arm. He
moves to the bank and hits scattered
wood cover with the spinnerbait and
flipping jig.
agalnst this one, however; the n'ater's
getting pretty muddy here, and it's
OnlV r / degrees.
6
HOT.IffiS LHFT
3;12 ;r.n-c, The wind is blowing 15
mph out of the south as Morgenthaler
>>
drifts down a mainlake bank, alternating between the spinnerbait and
finesse jig.
}} SilS :r,ml, He enters a cove containing several moored pontoon boats.
"Pontoons can be awesome overhead
bass coverl They're like a dock; You
can pitch a lure way up under them."
B 8i:$ *.ffi, Morgenthaler catches a
short fish offa pontoon on the finesse jig.
}} 8;*5;4"m, The wind is gusting to 20
mph and the skies are starting to
clear. Morgenthaler ties on a chartreuse Strike King KVD 1.5 square bill
crankbait and cranks the Merc' "The
water's only 56 degrees in this cove.
I'm going to hit a spot farther uplake
to see if it's any warmer there."
!y &:3.{ ir,ffi, Morgenthaler has located
an offshore rockpile rising from 20
feet to 3 feet beneath the surface. He
tries the square bill and the finesse jig
on the structure without success.
r! S:116 lt,rsr. He slow rolls the spinnerbait across the top ofthe rockpile.
Still nothing. "This spot looks awesome, but the water's onlY 55 degrees
here."
l) .{ir*fi e"fit. Morgenthaler moves to a
concrete sea wall and attacks it with
the finesse jig.
!.r Sr44 *,ur. Morgenthaler cranks the
square bill around a boat dock in a
sheltered cove. No takers.
|I 8i41) a,irt, He hits another dock with
the finesse jig. "They aren't exactly
jumping all over my lures. Hopefully,
the sun will warm up the water and
get'em going."
FI $;6,$ a."T!r" Morgenthaler moves a
quarter-mile uplake to a bank lined
with wood cover. He pitches the finesse jig to a serni-submerged tree.
"I'm already loving this bank. That
sunshine should put them tight to this
wood cover."
*
$;0I ;r..ilr, Morgenthaler switches to
black and blue Lunker
Lure Rattleback flipping jig with a
matching Zoom Salty Chunk trailer.
"This is my favorite jig for fishing
scattered wood cover; its extra weight
allows me to rnake extremely accurate pitches, so the lure drops straight
a 3/4-ounce
(Continued)
rr lilr lli ;t,tlt, Ho bags ktreper No. ll, I
pouncl,ll ounces, olf a surbnterged
brushtop on the Ilippinujig. "'l'his u,atcr's 6ll clegrees up her'o and it's ltot as
rtrrrrkv as it u,as arouncl thal culvert.
What's sot nrc kincl of trullirlocrl is vou
Lrsually don'l fincl sr.rch ii rvicle variancc
irr \\'ater tentperaturc in a lake this
srrrall. I l.oncleL il thcre are sontc ultdgrgrountl springs in thc krw,er entl
tlrat are keeping thc u,a.ter therc cool."
:> ;{}:.1;J ;r.rn. Nlorgcnthaler tit,s or-r a
black 3itl ourLce blaclecl jlg, brand unknou.n. rrnd dresses it n itl'r a sapphirc
blue Zoorn LlltraVibe Speed Crar,r,
tlailer. "l've alrvays had n'ry best luck
Hopefullv, I cun stitrt culline nowthat
I'vc got nry linrit."
,i ltt:.;l ;r"r;r. r\ short lislr falls victinr
to the Iincsst jie. "Thcvi-c stacked rrp
alonq t his rvall!'loo bad l l'rev art'n't
verv lri{."
/,! I li(,t:l rr"nr" Nlorgenthaler nrovcs firr.thcr uplake to fish sorne scatter.ed
l,ood covcl alonq a sloping bank u.ith
the black and bluc jie.
ffi fi-fi*&J$AS f;_ffiFT
tt i x:t.i;;"mr" Still pitching tlrc flipping jig to \\'oo(l cor.er. "The \\'atcr's
nruddier up hcre I'ronr *'ave irction.
I'm qoinq to nrlke a couplc ntore
pitches tltcn hcad back clrrvnlahc. i
wanl to hit sonte of those docks it-r the
coves I Iishcd earlier, then I u.ant to go
lrrrck antl hil lhc rrootl corcrlrqairr
tinutl)
((lon
on blnded jigs in plc.sparvrr. Thev
scenr lo lose their char.nt oncc the rva-
lcrrt,arrls up." IIe casls the hardthrobbing lure lo the bank and relrieves it quickly.
,'r i(!:ilti;i"iu. H(, sn,irns the bladecl jig
lhrouqh sourc scattcretl lilv pads and
spooks a biu Iish. "'l'hat r,rras either a
I li-pound bass or a carpl"
:' l():ttti;r.ir. A light rain is Ialling rLs
Nlorgenthalcr pil chcs the black anrl
blue jig to a subrnerqed tree.
,lh lilx:iti;r.fir, Thc, rainlets up as
Nlorccnthaler exits t.he creck arm atrd
lourrcis a point to fislr a tnain-lake
bank. \\rlrat's his take on the dav so firr-?
"l'r'e coveretl ;r krl ol shrrllon
wirler Irut
I'r,e oniy seen onc or. two bass beds, so I
ckur'l t['rink they ve ntor.erd up shallou.
\'('t,-Jigs are the onlv lules I'r,e been able
1o calch fish on so lirr; I'r,e had zcro
Iuck on anv Itorizonttl prescntatiorr,
rvlrich tel ls nrc the l ish are ncither
ct ttisirrq irlrrtrrrd I)riort() sltrrrr ttirrg tror
prou,linc alorrncl looking for tbod.'l'he
trppcr end has u'amrer watcr, but I'r,e
caught two soocl flsh and lost a real big
one in thc lorver encl lr,hcre Lhe watcr's
cooler, so go figtrre. I l.as hopinq thc
sun l,ould slal.or.rt itnd narnt uir the
water don n therc, but it doesn't look
like t.hat's going to happen. I'r,e still got
plentl'of tinrc lel't, so I'11 probably hit
somc rnore \\/ood cover in the upper
end before mor.ing back dou,nlake."
rr i{}; $,1 u"elr. Nlorgcnthaler fishes u
rt,lairrirrg nrrll rvitlr t he finr,ssc jig.
;, l{}: Ii";r.nl. Nlorgenthalerbags kecper
No.:1, I pouncl, ] ounce, of'f tlre rctainirrqlvnll on thc l)nessc' jig.""['hcrtr arc a
bunch ol rocl<s dowrr thcre
- [J(x)d
place to fish t jig thtit loolts like a
crarv fi sh."
scrrTsuo€soEslcil
| rlvoc crnrucr
Finally. Bass baits that aren't afraid to wonk fon
rnnovations at ber-kley-f ishing,com
a
liv in g
See all oun
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t{t: l$ ;r.ml. Nlorqenthaler catches
his fitth keeper, l-4, ofl the retainins
n all. "They'rc lol ing this finessc jigl
irirji :riit{, *S$$Me=lf* 69
;ii;,t i
PgV
Lake -n
iVJrlrt t*lrtt rrir
illi
n,here I had my trvo biqgest bites. I'r,r.
pretty much ru lecl out finding
ar-rv
fisli
bcds in tl-re lor,vc.r c:nd, and I havc:n't
scen any in thc uppcr e nd whe re t.hc witl.cr's warmer, cit.hcr. I'll mainlv stick to
or-r
u.ood cot,cr and docks adjacc,nt tcr
sparvning arcas be,cause thcse are likc,lt,
plact,s rr Irt,rc prespatrn fish rr'ill stilr{(,."
)| [ ];? I il"lll, Morqenthaler makcs a rapid
run downlakc t.o a pocket he fishcd ear-
Iier ancl pilches the jig to a lavclown.
!> i l:?(r ;r.rrr. IIe spots a sntall lrass cruis_
ing thc bank near a gnarll,ovr:rhanging
tree. "'l'hat buck has lovin'on his nrind,
but I don't sce his girlfrierrrl tnywhere."
!r [ tr:lil il.ull, He moves to a clay point
ancl drtrqs tho finesse jig ovcrr I hc end of
the structure. The r,r,incl is reallv l-rowling
out here. "!\ie're goine to gct rvet before
the clay's rx,er."
!r I l;ll,l ir.nr. He retrietves the chartreuse
and white spinnerbait parallel to tr roily
mucl ba.nk.
>! { l;il9 *.rtr. l,{orgenthalcr spots a
nder parked bcneath an overhanginq trec. \\'hen he raiscs his rod to pitch
his jiu t.o the fish, it bolts lor cle eper n ater.
i! I l;.ll) *.rm. He sees tltc l}-pounder again
and t.ries to get it to bitc thc: I'inesse jig,
but it's not interestcd. "'['hery can really be
spooky rvhen thev first nlovc r.lp."
>r tr I:liO:r.rrr. Nlorqcnthalcr pitches the
f lippinu jig to a r"iprap bank. " I'his rock
bank looks a\{resomc; loo bacl it's onlv 4
irtt lrt's <lccpl"
3-por.r
It t flr5.1 u.*rr" He hits a couple of boat
cloclis with the jig. "l ncccl Io getbusyancl
cull those trvo sniall kcepers." What's the
biesest bass ofNlorgenthaler's career? "ll
pounds, 7 ounces
- I caucht it on a surface frog at the 2014 Elit.c Series tournarnent at Toledo Bend. You'd think a fish
t hat big hitting a surlirce lure would make
a splash like a car Iiilling ofl'a bridge, but il
just quietlv slulpcd it. under."
>) l2:{).ir p.rn, Nloreenthaler rnoves a short
clistance to a big tril)utarv arln \\,ith multiplc
FEELTHE DIFFERENnE
70
M}l$SMilfiffiTfrffi
Iroal ckrcks. He fishes l.he fincsse jigaroLrr-rcl
soruc scattered lily puds. "Now the sun is
trying to come out again! We re on the
leading edge ofabig frontalpassage, and
the weather is real unstable. Ifwe hear
tornado sirens go off, I m heading in!"
g e{skiffis
LffiFT
!r i*rl*
$;"*i!. A bass hits
Morgenthaler's finesse jig along a con-
crele sea wall but drops it.
>r
.l?:tl} p.m. Another short strike on
per shallowup close to those rocks."
$ X2:$5 p"rn, He moves to a small cove,
where he strikes out on the square bill.
>r l2:57 p.:sr. Morgenthaler switches
crankbaits to a Rapala DT6 medium
diver. "This one runs down to 6 feet."
He retrieves the plug parallel to a concrete sea wall.
}l X $r.irt" Morgenthaler bags a squealer
off the wall on the iinesse jig.
* trr{i$ p.:il. He pitches the finesse jig
to a dock and catches another small
hass.
S ffi*{Jffi LffiffiY
> 1:tr*;,-i?r" Morgenthaler hooks a
keeper on the finesse jig; it jumps and
shakes free. "That n as a 2-pounder. It
hit halfway back to the boat."
(Continued)
the retaining wall.
>! lt:l{i trl,nr" Morgenthaler idles to
the extreme upper end ofthe creek
arm and pitches the black and blue jig
to a submerged log. It comes back covered in snot grass. "They sure won't
bed around that stuffl They want a
hard bottom for spawning."
}} n2ritl ;r.m. Morgenthaler pitches
the finesse jig around a dock in the
tributary arm. "I caught that
3-pounder offa dock early in the day
but nothing else." He stows his trolling motor. "I'm heading back to that
Iong stretch of bank with all the wood
on it where I caught that 4 1/2 and lost
that bigger fish."
* $"lh*fl p.nrr" We re back on the
wooded bank. Morgenthaler pitches
the flipping jig to a stickup. The lure
hangs up in the brush; Morgenthaler
retrieves it and bends the hook inward
slightlywith pliers. "If you start hangingyourjig up in cover, often the hook
and not the weedguard is the culprit.
The hook on thisjig had opened up a
tinybit from catching fish and banging
around in cover all day, so I bent it back
dorvn slightly to its original angle."
}} i?r4l trl-Bl" Morgenthaier has patiently pitched either the flipping or
finesse iig to virtualll, every piece of
wood he's come across on a long
stretch ofbank. He's now in a pocket
he fished earlier. "It would be nice if a
10-pounder would move in here now
that the sun's come back out."
B X.*:4S p.mt, Still picking apart wood
cover with the jig. "They sure aren't
wanting to move shallou,er anytime
soon! Notice that the leaves haven't
even starting budding on most of the
trees around here, either. They had a
really bad winter in this area, and it's
probably going to take several consecutive days of warm, sunny weather to
get this lake in gear. The water temp's
still only 56 degrees here."
F> l*;S$ p"m, Morgenthaler runs farther
downlake to a rocky bank, where he
tries the square bill crankbait. It dredges
i Ir'
ru{} ffiT$*HA i"iffif; *$
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ffi
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iesisi;lr+ to grve 1r**i: llfid $ait!{aili angl*ts the ul:fgi'hlxd ifl
llny iishi*g si'ruaii*ir
You(@ffi
up slimy grass on his first cast. "It's su-
rLrril?l1r: $&$fiffi&SE*ffi 71
i*liad
i'#,,rrrrr i, i ralr-.r
;
L, :rl6 :;.r*. Morgenthaler pitches
the finesse jig between a dock and
a pontoon boat and catches his
sixth keeper of the day, 1 pound, 3
ounces. It culls the l-t he caught
earlier.
, !: i h {}.in. The sky is turning
black as a thunderstorm moves
closer.
{::*5 p,**}, Morgenthaler exchanges the bluegill-imitating Flow
Glider swimbait for a Bull Shad, a
!l
.,'i:i lrJ ir. ! ?;.
[ast-minute
lunker! Morgenthaler's
biggest bass of the day,
a 5-2 largemouth,
;sr
72
fi&$Sf*S$T$ffi ,lprii2{iJ6
smacked his finesse jig
on an offshore rockpile.
big, four-section, gizzard shad
mimic. "This swimbail has an incredibly lifelike swimming action. I
want to sn im it in front of a couple
ofthese docks to see ifthere aren't
any big fish holding under them."
il
I
::lli
E;"r{i" The
wind is nowblow-
ing 30 mph out of the u,est as
Morgenthaler swims the Bull Shad
past several docks.
,) B: : [ il.irr. lt's spitting rain as
Morgenthaler fishes a boathouse
'rvith the finesse jig.
ri 3 r3? Fi,ril. Morganthaler catches
keeper No. Z 2 pounds even, on the
finesse iig. "This fish was in B feet of
water out in front of that boathouse." It culls one ofhis l-3s.
)i l:li{i i}"ln" The skies open up as
the thunderstorm roars across
Lake J. Morgenthaler casts the finesse jig to a sloping bank at the
entrance to the tributary arm.
>, fi ;.t [ ]r.r.*e. A good fish hits his jig
but comes unbuttoned.
* i:49 p.r*. The thunderstorm has
mercifully ceased and
Morgenthaler has moved to a flat
bank near the creek entrance with
the finesse jig.
l:,i7 I"l.r?r" Morgenthaler's time is
'I
running out. He races across the
lake to the rockpile he fished earlier
and tries the DT6.
lt :lrfil} !].sr1, The crankbait is
dredging grass offthe rockpile on
every cast, so Morgenthaler
swltches to the finesse jig.
$ 3:{l? p.E!. Morgenthaler pauses
to retie. "I'd sure hate to lose a good
fish because my line broke."
>| *;{}* p"*al" "Big fish,"
Morgenthaler says as he sticks a
lunker bass on the finesse jig. He
works it around the bow ofhis boat and swings aboard his
eighth and biggest keeper ofthe day, a 5-2 largemouth!
l,! ?r:t ;i.,ii" Backto the boat ramp. Morgenthaler has had
an interesting and productive day on LakeJ. He's boated
eigl.rt keeper bass; the five biggest weigh 15 pounds, 15
ounces.
EF*ffi
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"Catching that big fish'n as a cool u,ay to end the da1,!"
Nlorgenthaler told Bassmaster. "The fish definitely had not
moved up to spawn yet, and they didn't seem to be cruising
around, either. Every fish I caught came on a jig. I spent a lot
of time looking for a real shallow bite'r,r,hen my biggest fish
ofthe day'n as probably 7 feet deep on offshore structure.
Gir.en the unstable u,eather conditions, I probably made the
right decision to stick rvith a jig around r,r,ood cover and
docks much of the da1,, although the dock bite fizzled out
right after I caught that 3-pounder early in the da1,. Ifwere
&fl*# Wffiffir€ *#&*
ffi*ffiGHruEffi&futrffi *&t5#Hg" $€q$
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to fish this lake tomorrorv, I'd spend less time in the coves
and more time on the main lake targeting rockpiles, points
and other structures in hopes ofcatching bigger bass ffi
that aren't el,en thinking of mor.ing .nu11o11, yet."
tgj
As on angler, your fishing license and purchase
of fishing equipment helps ensure access to
abundant fish and healthy waters.
Soortsmen and women are
co's tr ue conse rv ati oni sts.
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